Is Paulo Freire Correct About the Banking Concept And The Problem-posing Method?

Paulo Freire, a well-renowned leader in literacy studies as well as an advocate of progressive teaching, is against the education system he classifies as the "banking concept of education". Instead, he supports the idea that education should be a collaborative process in which teachers and students work together and think critically. From the excerpt "The Banking Concept of Education" taken from his most popular book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, he classifies the Banking Concept as an environment where teachers are the narrators and the students are the recorders (238). Freire has also proposed a new solution in his article called the problem-posing education where the teacher and student become one to say, each teaches the other and both have the chance to think critically as well as give one's interpretation of the subject (242). However, both systems are not entirely perfect and therefore both have advantages and disadvantages in the education system.

The banking concept of education has received many criticisms especially from Freire himself. Freire describes the method of teaching where the teachers directly fill the minds of their students with information and the student themselves accept it without any questioning as oppressive (239). To put it differently, the teacher informs, and the student listens in return. The students are not allowed to challenge the authority and the credibility of the teacher. So students have no freedom or active participation in education and the exchange of information is one-way. As I see it, this is generally what people call spoon-feeding. In addition, Freire explains, "Those truly committed to liberation must reject the banking concept in its entirety, adopting instead a concept of men as conscious beings, and consciousness as consciousness intent upon the world" (241). This suggests that Freire feels the banking concept leads to an unresponsive mind that stands in the way of men's expression and freedom. This is obviously against the principle of most people in this country which emphasizes on freedom of expression or speech. He also adds, "In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to acknowledge men as historical beings" (244). To put it differently, he feels that the banking concept fails to recognize men as the ultimate being in this world that is capable of unparalleled heights. With the banking concept, men's achievements are hampered resulting to a backward society in the future. Thus, Freire concludes that there is no advantage to the banking concept of education and that it is never useful.

There is, however, a time in which this type of teaching is necessary and advantageous. The act of recording, memorizing, and repeating phrases may have its advantages after all in certain situations. For instance, this banking method would demonstrate its necessity when teaching a foreign language. This is because, for the first few years of learning a foreign language, the only method of teaching is the memorization and repetition of vocabulary, pronunciation, and so on. Likewise this is also true when teaching in an elementary school or to younger kids. The students need to learn the basics first before using it to think and formulate their own views and ideas. For example, when teaching basic math equation, teachers ask their students to memorize that 1+1= 2 or 1x2=2 and so on. In this situation, it is appropriate to use the banking concept because there is no point denying accuracy of the equation. In other words, students need the foundation that is passed to them by their teachers to be able to think critically and be creative in their own way. Therefore the banking concept provides groundwork for students to enter another stage where the problem-posing method would be used. On the whole, the banking concept should not be entirely eliminated from the...

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There is not a lot of good that can come from a teacher just dumping all of their information and knowledge into the mind of a student. The students will have a less developed critical consciousness if they are just focused on storing the information that the teacher has to offer (319). Now, students will then start to accept things for what they are, instead of having an open...

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The “bankingconcept,” as termed by PauloFreire, is essentially a method of teaching that hinders the intellectual growth of students by turning them into, figuratively speaking, comatose “receptors” and “collectors” of information that have no real connection to their lives.
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...become transformers of their education? Would the "bankingconcept" of teaching be more effective, where "the scope of the action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits" (pg. 260). Or would the "problemposing" style of teaching be the most effective, where by "responding to the essence of consciousnessintentionallyrejects communiqués and embodies communications. It epitomizes the special characteristic of consciousness" (pg. 265). In this essay I intend persuade you the audience to take in my experiences and the experience of two other authors, whom I will be showing you later, and take a look from my point of view.
Through this essay I am going to try and show the advantages of "problemposing" style to education. In my opinion this style of education is very effective in expanding the minds of the receiver by making them more interactive in their learning rather than the typical lecture and take notes. In this style of education people teach each other and the teacher is not the only one enlightening the class with their knowledge. I cannot only speak this opinion from my own experiences, but also others who share in the same view sculpted by their experiences. The two authors whom I used for a base of my point of view are PauloFreire and Richard Rodriguez. Freire wrote the essay...